6 Mailchimp alternatives for growing businesses in India
Why teams look beyond Mailchimp, what to check before switching, and 6 options compared on price, free plans and features — including when Mailchimp is still the better choice.
Why look for a Mailchimp alternative?
From Mailchimp’s own published plans and features (checked November 2026).
Mailchimp’s price goes up with contact count (all contacts in audiences, tiered) and plan level; sends scale as a multiple of contacts.
Free plan: up to 250 contacts, 500 sends/month (250/day), 1 audience, 1 user.
Plans cover email, SMS, automation and reporting, with no deals pipeline, sales tasks or company records.
Conditional and percentage splits each create two paths.
No spam/content checker; testing tips cover Inbox Preview (rendering) and Link Checker only.
What to look for in a Mailchimp alternative
Six checks that matter most for an Indian business — whichever tool you pick.
- Pay in rupees with a GST invoice. So the expense is simple to book and you can claim input credit — no card forex fees.
- Know what the price grows with. Contacts, emails sent, or both. A tool priced by contacts gets expensive with a big, quiet list; one priced by sends punishes frequent senders.
- Automation on the plan you can afford. Welcome series, abandoned carts and re-engagement should not need the top plan.
- Deliverability help, not just sending. SPF, DKIM and DMARC checks, a gradual warm-up for new senders, and bounce and complaint handling.
- Consent tools for the DPDP Act. Double opt-in, a preference centre, consent records and easy data export and deletion.
- A painless move. CSV or Excel import with column mapping, and unsubscribes carried over so you never email someone who opted out.
The best Mailchimp alternatives in 2026
MailNesto first — it’s our product, so judge for yourself — then the most complete other tools from our comparison of 17 platforms.
- 1
MailNesto
Email campaigns, automations, forms, landing pages, a CRM pipeline and transactional email in one account — priced in rupees with GST invoices, and made for businesses in India.
- Free plan
- Free plan: 500 contacts, 2,500 emails a month
- Paid plans
- Starter from ₹1,499/month (+ 18% GST) or $19/month outside India · 5,000 contacts
- Features
- All 51 in our comparison
- 2
Klaviyo
Ecommerce-focused email, SMS and customer data platform that uses store and website events for segmentation, flows and revenue reporting.
- Free plan
- Free: up to 250 active profiles, 500 email sends/month, plus $5/month each of Composer (AI) usage and mobile messages; Klaviyo branding; email support for first 60 days only
- Paid plans
- Marketing plan from $20/mo for 500 active profiles and 5,000 email sends/mo (paid plans remove Klaviyo branding)
- Features
- 37.5 of 51
Good fit when: You run an online store (especially Shopify or WooCommerce) and want flows driven by product views, checkouts and orders; you want revenue attribution and predictive segmentation built in.
- 3
ActiveCampaign
Marketing automation platform combining email campaigns, a visual automation builder, site tracking and optional CRM/sales add-ons.
- Free plan
- No free plan
- Paid plans
- Starter at 1,000 contacts: about $15/mo billed yearly or $19/mo billed monthly; 10,000 email sends/mo, 1 user, automations limited to 5 actions
- Features
- 33.5 of 51
Good fit when: You need detailed automations with goals, splits, site tracking and date triggers; you want marketing automation and an optional CRM/sales pipeline in one vendor.
- 4
Brevo
Multichannel marketing and CRM platform covering email campaigns, transactional email/SMTP, SMS, WhatsApp, automation and a sales CRM.
- Free plan
- Free plan: up to 300 emails/day once the account is approved; Brevo branding on emails; 1 marketing seat
- Paid plans
- Starter from $9/mo (₹625/mo) for 5,000 emails/mo; pricing data lists a 500-contact cap at that tier; Brevo logo removal is a paid add-on
- Features
- 33 of 51
Good fit when: You send to a large list infrequently, since plans are priced mainly by email volume; you need marketing and transactional email (API/SMTP), SMS and WhatsApp in one account.
- 5
Moosend
Email marketing and automation platform with a drag-and-drop editor, website-behaviour triggers, landing pages and forms. It is priced by contact count with unlimited sends.
- Free plan
- No free plan
- Paid plans
- Pro from about $9/mo for 500 contacts with unlimited emails (about $7/mo billed yearly); 30-day free trial up to 1,000 contacts. Prices from review sites — the vendor page loads them dynamically.
- Features
- 33 of 51
Good fit when: You want unlimited email sends on a paid plan priced by contact count; you want website-behaviour triggers (page visits, product views, add-to-cart, purchases) and ready-made abandoned-cart recipes.
- 6
GetResponse
Email marketing and automation platform that also includes landing pages, web push, webinars, course creation and a website builder on higher plans.
- Free plan
- Free plan: up to 500 contacts, 2,500 newsletters/month, 1 landing page, signup forms; premium features only for the first 14 days; GetResponse badge on emails
- Paid plans
- Starter $19/mo (about $15.58/mo billed annually) for up to 1,000 contacts, unlimited sends, 3 users, 1 custom automation workflow
- Features
- 32.5 of 51
Good fit when: You want unlimited email sends on paid plans, priced by list size; you also need webinars, courses, a website builder or web push alongside email.
Mailchimp and its alternatives, side by side
Swipe sideways to see every tool →
| MailNesto | Mailchimp | Klaviyo | ActiveCampaign | Brevo | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Free plan: 500 contacts, 2,500 emails a month | Free plan: up to 250 contacts, 500 sends/month (250/day), 1 audience, 1 user | Free: up to 250 active profiles, 500 email sends/month, plus $5/month each of Composer (AI) usage and mobile messages; Klaviyo branding; email support for first 60 days only | No free plan | Free plan: up to 300 emails/day once the account is approved; Brevo branding on emails; 1 marketing seat |
| Price grows with | Contacts and monthly emails | Contact count (all contacts in audiences, tiered) and plan level; sends scale as a multiple of contacts | Active (emailable) profiles; unsubscribed and suppressed profiles are not billed. SMS/mobile messaging is a separate committed spend | Contact count (tiers from 1,000 contacts) and plan level; CRM, transactional email, SMS and custom reporting are add-ons | Monthly email volume (Starter up to 100k, Standard up to 500k, Professional from 150k) and plan level; extra seats, landing pages and dedicated IP are add-ons |
| Pay in rupees (₹) | Yes, with GST invoices | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| Product blocks & recommendations | Bestsellers, new arrivals, picks for each person, recently viewed and cart items — from your store | YesProduct recommendation blocks pull items from a connected store and can show each recipient picks based on their purchase history. | YesProduct blocks and feeds sync from Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce and other stores, and feeds can be personalised for each customer. | PartlyThe Product Catalog block pulls Shopify or WooCommerce products using filters or manual picks on Plus and higher, with no per-contact recommendations described. | YesHas a product block for a connected store plus product feeds, including a personalised feed driven by each contact's purchases; the recently-viewed feed needs the Professional or Enterprise plan. |
| Lead scoring | Points for opens, clicks, visits, forms, events and orders; hot-lead alerts | PartlyAutomatic 1–5 star contact rating, mainly from clicks, that can be used in segments. You can't set your own points. Predictive scores (likelihood to purchase, CLV, churn risk) are separate. | NoNo lead scoring. Klaviyo staff point to engagement segments instead; predictive analytics (CLV, churn risk) do not score leads. | YesContact scoring rules give points (which can expire) for opens, clicks, site visits, form/field changes and events. The pricing page lists lead scoring with the Pipelines add-on on Plus, Pro and Enterprise, but not Starter. | PartlyBuilt-in contact scoring (purchase-based RFM and lifetime value) on Professional; points for opens or clicks have to be built by hand with a number attribute in an automation |
| Deals board, tasks & companies | Deals board with stages, tasks with reminders, notes and companies — included | NoPlans cover email, SMS, automation and reporting, with no deals pipeline, sales tasks or company records. | NoKlaviyo has customer profiles and a helpdesk but no sales pipeline, deals or company records. | PartlyDeal pipelines and account records come only with the paid Pipelines CRM add-on, available on Plus, Pro and Enterprise. | YesThe built-in Sales CRM has deal pipelines with stages, tasks and company records; sales automation needs the Sales Essentials or Advanced package. |
| Predicted lifetime value & next order date | Spend over the next 12 months and each customer’s next order date, in segments and automations | YesPredicted customer lifetime value and predicted time to next purchase need the Standard plan or higher and a connected store. | YesProfiles show predicted CLV and expected date of next order; CLV predictions need at least 500 customers and 180 days of order history. | NoPredictive features are limited to send-time optimisation on Pro and Enterprise, with no CLV or next-order prediction. | PartlyPredictive scores include customer lifetime value, churn risk and number of purchases, but no next order date. |
| Branches with more than two paths | Conditions and splits with up to 8 paths | NoConditional and percentage splits each create two paths | YesMulti-branch splits up to 20 paths; rolling out in phases | PartlySplit action (Pro/Enterprise) can split into multiple paths; If/Else has 2 paths | Not confirmed |
| Abandoned cart recovery | Store carts with a recovery link | YesRequires a connected e-commerce store or API 3.0 integration | Yes | YesAll plans; needs Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento or Deep Data integration | YesRequires store integration or tracker |
| HubSpot & Zoho CRM sync | Contacts and lead score sent every few minutes; their workflows can send contacts back | YesIntegrations exist for both CRMs, built by the CRM vendors: HubSpot syncs contacts into Mailchimp and email activity back, and Zoho CRM syncs leads and contacts. | PartlyThe native Zoho CRM sync only pulls in leads one way, and the HubSpot sync is a partner-built app (KAV Labs). | PartlyZoho is among the standard CRM integrations on all plans, but HubSpot is not listed and needs Zapier. | YesBrevo's own HubSpot integration imports contacts, companies and deals and sends email events back, and a Zoho-built plugin offers one-way or two-way Zoho CRM sync. |
| Transactional email | Receipts and OTPs via API, same account | PartlyTransactional Email add-on (paid) on Standard and Premium; demo only on lower plans | PartlyFlow messages can be marked transactional after approval; paid accounts only | PartlyPaid add-on on all plans, via Postmark connection | YesTransactional email via API/SMTP on all plans |
When to stay with Mailchimp
Switching isn’t always the answer. Mailchimp may still be right if:
- You want a widely known tool with a large integration directory (300+) and extensive help documentation
- You need many automation triggers, including Shopify behaviour, birthdays and predictive purchase signals
- You want email, SMS, forms and landing pages in one account with a free plan to start
- You value detailed reporting such as click maps, geolocation and e-commerce revenue
How to move from Mailchimp to MailNesto
- 1
Export from Mailchimp
Audience > (select audience) > Export audience > Export CSV; a ZIP of CSVs (subscribed, unsubscribed, non-subscribed, cleaned) is emailed when ready.
- 2
Import into MailNesto
Contacts → Import: upload the CSV or Excel file (or paste it), map the columns, choose a list. Import only subscribed people, then paste unsubscribed, bounced and complained addresses into Audience → Suppression list so they never get email again.
- 3
Bring your designs
Campaigns > Email templates > (template) > More options > Export as template (HTML). Only custom-coded templates; drag-and-drop templates cannot be exported. Then import the .html or .zip in Templates, or start from one of ours.
- 4
Authenticate your domain
Add the SPF, DKIM and DMARC records MailNesto shows you, then send a test. New senders ramp up gradually to protect your reputation.
- 5
Rebuild automations
Start from a recipe (welcome, birthday, win-back, abandoned cart) or build your own journey with branches and goals. Note: Merge tags use *|FNAME|* syntax. Drag-and-drop templates, automation flows and reports do not carry over.
Mailchimp alternatives: common questions
What is the best alternative to Mailchimp?
It depends on what you send and how big your list is. For businesses in India that want campaigns, automations, forms and transactional email in one account, billed in rupees, MailNesto is built for exactly that. Klaviyo, ActiveCampaign, Brevo are also worth comparing — see the list above for when each one fits.
Is there a free alternative to Mailchimp?
Yes — MailNesto has a Free plan: 500 contacts, 2,500 emails a month. Klaviyo, Brevo, GetResponse also offer free plans; their limits are in the table above. Free plans are good for trying a tool; check the sending limit before you rely on one.
Is there an Indian alternative to Mailchimp?
MailNesto is made for Indian businesses: rupee pricing with GST invoices, Indian festivals in the template library and DPDP-friendly consent tools. Other tools built in India include Zoho Campaigns, Mailmodo, Netcore Email (Netcore Cloud), Pabbly Email Marketing.
Can I move my contacts from Mailchimp?
Yes. In Mailchimp: Audience > (select audience) > Export audience > Export CSV; a ZIP of CSVs (subscribed, unsubscribed, non-subscribed, cleaned) is emailed when ready. Then import the file into MailNesto (CSV, Excel or paste), map the columns and pick a list. Unsubscribed and bounced addresses stay suppressed.
Should I stay with Mailchimp?
Possibly — Mailchimp may suit you better if you want a widely known tool with a large integration directory (300+) and extensive help documentation, or if you need many automation triggers, including Shopify behaviour, birthdays and predictive purchase signals.
Alternatives to other tools
Where these facts come from (26 sources)
- mailchimp.com/help/use-product-recommendation-content-blocks-new-builder/
- mailchimp.com/help/about-predicted-demographics/
- ecosystem.hubspot.com/marketplace/listing/mailchimp
- quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/help-article/email-campaign/contact-ratings/L95oP
- dreamlit.ai/blog/mailchimp-review
- mailchimp.com/features/rss-to-email/
- mailchimp.com/help/about-click-maps/
- mailchimp.com/help/about-customer-journeys/
- mailchimp.com/help/about-geolocation/
- mailchimp.com/help/about-webhooks/
- mailchimp.com/help/all-the-starting-points/
- mailchimp.com/help/create-abandoned-cart-customer-journey/
- mailchimp.com/help/export-template-html/
- mailchimp.com/help/format-guidelines-for-your-import-file/
- mailchimp.com/help/mailchimp-european-data-transfers/
- mailchimp.com/help/pricing-for-international-non-us-and-other-currencies/
- mailchimp.com/help/resend-an-unopened-campaign/
- mailchimp.com/help/view-export-contacts/
- mailchimp.com/pricing/compare-plans/
- mailchimp.com/pricing/marketing/
- mailchimp.com/help/import-contacts-mailchimp/
- mailchimp.com/help/create-a-preferences-center/
- mailchimp.com/help/connect-domain/
- mailchimp.com/help/email-testing-tips/
- mailchimp.com/help/connect-or-disconnect-list-subscribe-for-wordpress/
- mailchimp.com/help/manage-multiple-accounts-with-one-login/
Mailchimp, Klaviyo, ActiveCampaign, Brevo, Moosend, GetResponse are trademarks of their owners. This comparison is our own, made from public information on each vendor’s website (checked November 2026); we aren’t affiliated with them. Plans and prices change — check the vendor’s site before you decide, and tell us if something here is out of date and we’ll fix it.